Internal genome deletions in two distinct classes of defective interfering particles of vesicular stomatitis virus.

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Abstract
The genome sequences represented in 2 defective interfering particles derived from the heat-resistant strain of vesicular stomatitis virus were characterized by end-labeling and hybridization techniques. Both defective particle RNA, which differ slightly in size, contain 5''-end sequences identical to each other and to that of the standard infectious virus genome, for at least the first .apprxeq. 55 bases. In contrast, the 3''-end sequences of these 2 RNA are different. The 3''-end sequence of the smaller RNA is identical to that of the standard genome for at least the first 48 bases. The 3''-end sequence of the larger RNA is an inverted complement of its 5''-end for .apprxeq. 65 bases. The bulk of the sequences in both RNA is derived from the 3'' half of the standard genome. The 2 defective particles differ in their in vitro transcription and in vivo replication properties. These results provide direct evidence for the presence of internal genome deletions in defective interfering particles of negative-stranded RNA animal viruses and demonstrate the existence of at least 2 distinct classes of these particles.